“Rick was a talented player with an extremely bright future. His hunger for the game made him a valued team member both on and off the ice. This loss has impacted us as more than just a hockey team,” the statement said.

Rypien, 27, signed a one-year contract with the newly-established Jets on June 2. He missed most of last season after taking a leave of absence in November for personal reasons.

That came on the heels of an October incident in which Rypien grabbed a fan at Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center, trying to pull him into the tunnel before being restrained by teammates and coaches. He was suspended for six games and struggled to regain a spot in the Canucks’ lineup afterwards.

The Canucks didn’t publicize the reason for Rypien’s leave of absence, his second in three years. But general manager Mike Gillis told the Vancouver Sun at the time, “When you come to know somebody and realize they’re a really good person ... You don’t only support them when they’re at the top of their game ... you support them when they’re not feeling good about things or have other issues they have to deal with.”

Rypien returned to hockey in March, playing 11 games with the Manitoba Moose, the Canucks’ AHL affiliate which gave him his professional hockey start in 2005.

Rypien played 119 NHL games over six seasons, all with the Canucks. He was a fan favourite in Vancouver, racking up 126 penalty minutes while earning a regular shift on the team’s fourth line in 2009-10.

After signing with the Jets, he said was “more excited than I’ve ever been” about returning to Winnipeg.

“I went through a couple of things I had to deal with, I got over it — it took longer than I wanted,” Rypien told the Winnipeg Free Press. “But just the interest people had in me and the belief people had in me … it means a lot to me. It makes me believe even more in myself. They see something in me as a person that maybe sometimes you don’t see yourself.”

Prior to breaking in as an undrafted free agent with the Moose in 2005, Rypien played four seasons with the WHL’s Regina Pats.

He’s the second NHL enforcer to die this off-season. In May, New York Rangers forward Derek Boogaard was found dead at age 28 with a mix of alcohol and oxycodone in his bloodstream.

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